[Samson Sunday] Ancient Armory: Terra's Electroprod

 (Seriously, there is a LOT of good MCC stuff in Issue #6!)

Weapon: Electroprod
Tech Level: 3
Complexity Modifier: 3

Range: Melee

Damage: 2d8 plus stun (DC 18 Fort save or stunned for 1d8 rounds)

Power: C-Cell (20), F-Cell (40), Q-Cell (U) 

The electroprod used by Terra of Jerz is a device of her own creation. As a master technician with an abundance of Ancient tech at her disposal, Terra created her electroprod as a way to keep her minions under control without doing any serious harm to them.

The electroprod has the same effect as a force baton, in that it has an end result of stunning the target. However, the electroprod does this by first delivering a wicked electrical shock that does 2d8 hit point of damage, which also overloads the target's neural system. The target must then make a DC 18 Fort save or they will be stunned for 1d8 rounds.

Terra was unable to miniaturize the power source enough to fit into the electroprod itself, so she wears a power pack on her belt with wires leading to the electroprod. If these wires are ever broken or severed, the electroprod will be powerless until she has time to repair the device.

NOTE: This weapon was inspired by the tale from Issue 6 of "Mighty Samson." Stay tuned each week for Samson Sunday!

My Convention-bound Custom-made Trapper Keeper!

When I attend conventions to run games, I have found that a 3-ring binder is perfect for me to use at the table. A small pocket-purse up front carries my extra pencils, timer, dry-erase markers, etc. The cover pocket holds my pre-gens. And I place my adventure scripts into plastic sleeves so I can write on them during play to make note of current hit points, playtest notes, etc. With the exception of my dice bag, everything fits into this one binder behind the screen.

Several months ago, I made a suggestion that the only way this could be even more retro-gaming at the table was if it were a Trapper Keeper. You know, those hold-everything-and-then-some binders that were all the rage back in the 1980s (when Yours Truly was in school and discovering RPGs). Today while shopping, I passed through the Back To School section and found a WALL OF TRAPPER KEEPERS. I honestly thought they didn't make these anymore! So I scooped one up, brought it home, and converted it to my NEW convention-bound gaming binder!

The wall of Trapper Keepers! You can almost smell the 1980s, can't ya?

My current gaming binder on the left, and my new TK on the right, about to undergo some alterations!

I didn't want the TK front "flap" to cover up my favorite gaming artwork (Vallejo's Death Dealer), so to access the back cover area, I cut a flap on the inside back cover.

Turned the TK over, opened the flap to the edge, and slipped in the artwork from my gaming binder. (I could've printed a new one, but this printout has been with me since Gen Con 2008.)

And a strip of black duct tape hides the slit nicely.

For the front, I added some of my favorite unused stickers.

The TK comes with two of those slip-in "portfolios". I likely will use them for maps and pre-gens.

And my pocket-purse in the front with pencils and what-not.

Here's the final front.

Here's the final back.

RPG Overview Reviews My Deviant Database and DD 2.0 For Mutant Future

Long before Mutant Crawl Classics came around, I was playing Goblinoid Game's Mutant Future. This post-apocalyptic RPG is based on the Labyrinth Lord system, which is itself based on B/X OSR-type gaming. (You know, "The Original Fantasy Game".) Mutant Future is a great game and was the original inspiration for this blog, in fact.

I created several supplements for it back in the day, and Brandon Goeringer of RPG Overviews was kind enough to recently review my Deviant Databases. The two books in the series are collections of monsters, mutants, creatures, and NPCs that appeared on this blog over the years with artwork contributed by many artists in the OSR RPG community. I appreciated that Brandon liked these supplements enough to review them, and I have linked to his review below.

(Oh, and they can be easily converted to MCC RPG if you wish to use them in your own home games.)

Wicked Weaponry: Mambele

Weapon: Mambele

Damage: 1d6 (melee) or 1d4 (ranged)

Range: 20'/40'/80' (Strength modifier applies to damage at close range only) 

Cost: 10 gp

Description: The mambele is a combination handaxe/thrown weapon that consists of a handle attached to a curved blade about 18' to 22' in length. The blade, however, typically has four separate cutting points - three on the leading edge, and one on the backside - so that the weapon makes contact with a pointed blade regardless of how it strikes. The first blade (toward the top) is usually curved or "hooked", allowing the user to pull a target closer during melee. And, due to the multiple edges, it will likely successfully injure a target if thrown. The mambele is known by several different names (kpinga, hunga munga, goleyo) and varies in design and blade number, size, and length.

[Samson Sunday] Savage Menagerie: Vacuum Leviathan

(I'm playing a bit of catch-up with Samson Sunday entries! Fortunately, Issue 6 has a bunch of bizarre creatures for MCC RPG.)

Vacuum Leviathan: Init +5/+7/+9; Atk suction maw +5/+7/+9 melee (swallow whole); AC 15/17/20; HD 8d20/13d20/18d20; MV 80'/90'/100'; Act 1d20; SP swallow whole, bigger and bigger; SV Fort +10, Ref +5, Will +10; Crit M/d20.

Swallow whole: The Vacuum Leviathan doesn't chew or bite a victim; rather a target who is successfully hit is "swallow whole" as they are caught in the powerful suction of its gaping maw. Once swallowed, the victim is lost forever. The judge should allow a player to perform one last-minute action to save themselves on a DC 20 (a Strength check to hang onto something; a Reflex save to leap to safety before being pulled in, etc.)

Bigger and bigger: Any material the Vacuum Leviathan takes in is absorbed and added to its bulk. For every 24 hours it lives, it increases in size, moving up one step in initiative, melee bonus, AC, HD, and movement rate. (Refer to the creature's stat box above.) Once it reaches its maximum size, it will remain there until defeated.

The Vacuum Leviathan is a creature from space that crashed to Earth on a fallen satellite as a collection of microscopic molecules. Once it reassembled, it began its destructive cycle by "vacuuming" and consuming everything in its path. (Just read the comic and it'll make a bit more sense.) A Vacuum Leviathan looks like a bizarre combination of snail and centipede with a monstrous "bag" making up the bulk of its body. It has a pair of antenna that it uses as sensory organs, and a wide gaping mouth that it uses to take in sustenance. It does this through a powerful vacuum effect that draws anything and everything into its mouth where it is instantly consumed. It is thought that perhaps a microscopic black hole is within the Vacuum Leviathan's "body", which would explain the monstrous forces of pull the creature is capable of.

The Vacuum Leviathan starts off life about the size of a large house, approximately 30' high and 200' long. As it takes in raw materials, this mysterious space creature breaks down the molecules and adds it to its own bulk, exponentially increasing in size during the process. After 24 hours, the Vacuum Leviathan will have more than doubled in size, and 24 hours after that, the creature will have grown to the size of the tallest Ancient skyscrapers. (The judge should use the first figures in the stat box above, then move up another level as the Vacuum Leviathan grows, and ending with the highest-most stats once it reaches its maximum size.)

The Vacuum Leviathan should not be tossed into an MCC campaign as a random wandering monster. Instead this titanic beast should be a campaign all its own. The players may be able to defeat the creature at its smallest stage through sheer brute force, but once its reaches its biggest size, mere melee and missile fire combat will do little to stop it. The judge should reward clever players who come up with a plan to defeat this giant monster with a reasonable chance of success. In the comic issue, Samson attempted to drop a bomb within the Vacuum Leviathan's mouth, only to have it go off without effect. Only by clogging the Vacuum Leviathan's mouth with a giant Colloso-whale, causing it to suffocate, was Samson able to stop this beast. Once defeated, the Vacuum Leviathan will disintegrate back into its dusty molecular structure where it will float back into space from whence it came...

NOTE: This creature was inspired by the tale from Issue 6 of "Mighty Samson." Stay tuned each week for Samson Sunday!

[Samson Sunday] Savage Menagerie: Jet-bird

(I'm playing a bit of catch-up with Samson Sunday entries! Fortunately, Issue 6 has a bunch of bizarre creatures for MCC RPG.)

Jet-bird: Init +9; Atk bite +7 melee (2d12); AC 16; HD 5d12; MV 30', fly 200'; Act 1d20; SP hasty retreat; SV Fort +5, Ref +10, Will +4; Crit M/d10.

Hasty retreat: Opponents engaged with the jet-bird in melee combat do not gain a free attack when it retreats by flying out of the enemy’s reach.  

The Jet-bird is one of the fastest predators found in the world of Mighty Samson. This large pterodactyl-like bird is built for speed, having a long, slender, featherless body. Its wings and fins are shaped much like the jet aircraft of the Ancient days, although no one knows if it evolved these features or if the bird is some type of lab-bred mutant. Rather than flapping its wings for flight, the Jet-bird generates and releases powerful twin streams of  flaming gas that propels it through the air. A Jet-bird can fly for up to 1 hour in this manner before it must land to regenerate this gas, a process that can take several hours. The Jet-bird's top speed can reach upwards of 300 MPH and it can climb to a height of 10 miles up.

The Jet-bird bites for its primary attack for 2d12 hp of damage. (Its claws are vestigial at best and are useless for melee combat.) A Jet-bird makes its home in the highest of ruined Ancient skyscrapers, where a nest can be found with 1d3 eggs and/or Jet-bird chicks within. If a Jet-bird is found and domesticated by a clever seeker, they may find themselves with a jet-fast mount as the Jet-bird ages.

NOTE: This creature was inspired by the tale from Issue 6 of "Mighty Samson." Stay tuned each week for Samson Sunday!

DCC Day 2022 Self-Indulgent Photo Montage

Well, DCC Day 2022 has come and gone. Hope everyone had a chance to toss some dice and/or TPK some 0-levels. I had a bunch of personal stuff that occupied most of my day, so my in-person, at-store event ended up being a quick visit to The Soldiery to pick up the goods and say "hey" to a table of DCC players who were about to have an "An Incident at Toad Fork."

But my day wasn't totally non-DCC-related, as I found time throughout the day to work on other DCC- and RPG-related projects. I'll thought I'd drop this photo montage of hints and teases...

Wore my DCC Day t-shirt, which (I think) was only available during the first event. And I only wear it on DCC Days. So after washing, back into the closet it goes for 365 days.

Grabbed this year's offerings (but missed out on the dice).

Check out the editor's credits for the Adventure Pack! You may be seeing my name a lot in the coming months...

It's not DCC-related, but I'm a sucker for the Tiny Epic games. Picked up TE Dungeons and Stories while I was out.

I really wanted the free DCC Day sticker Goodman Games was giving away with any order, so I went ahead and pulled the trigger on the MCC RPG nightlight they had in stock.

Spent a bit of time writing up some notes for a future MCC project of mine. It's been jokingly referred to it as "MCC: 1889", but the concept is "What if the Martian invasion of 1890 as documented in War of the Worlds was the Great Disaster of Terra A.D.?" Still a ways off though...

Now that in-person gaming and conventions are returning, I spent a few minutes sewing a new OSR patch onto my Bag of Holding. 

Like I said, you'll be seeing my name a lot in the coming months. This was just put to bed, in fact.

And for those of you who indulged me and read this to the end, here's a teaser cover for next month's CMGC release, "Wasted". Meet The Doombrewer and "Junebug".

Monthly Mutant Mayhem Online: "Albuquerque Starport" 1st lvl; July 31, 11a-3p EST

It's time again for Judge Sniderman's Monthly Mutant Mayhem! Each month I'll be running an online MCC game on Zoom for the first five sign-ups through the Goodman Games Road Crew Events scheduler! This month is "The Albuquerque Starport", a 1st-level MCC adventure in the classic Gamma World setting! This game will be run July 31 from 11:00 a.m. to 3 p.m. EST.

As your Seeker band crosses the scorching desert on their journey home, they spy an Ancient metallic tower jutting from a sand dune in the distance. The sun will soon set, bringing out the desert’s vicious night predators. Seeing it as the only protection offered in this barren landscape, you make your way to the opening in the broken wall of the tower…

DCC Day 2022! More Than 100+ Stores Participating! Find One Near You!

DCC Day 2022 is fast approaching! I've already posted a preview of the goodies and grabbies that will be available that day, so I won't repeat myself in this post.

However, the DCC Day Store Locator has just been posted, and there are more than 100 stores across the U.S. and Canada participating this year! Click the link and find one near you! In-store demos and online games will also be played everywhere that day, so check out the Road Crew Event calendar to see what's happening. And even if you can't get the goods that day, leftover DCC Day print releases typically end up on the Goodman Games Store website shortly after the event, with PDFs of all releases available online forever after.

Finally, it appears a local store will be hosting DCC Day for the first time, so I have someplace in my "backyard" this year! Plans are currently being made to run a funnel or two. Stay tuned!

[Samson Sunday] Savage Menagerie: Spidersaurus

Spidersaurus: Init +7; Atk bite +7 melee (2d12 plus poison); AC 18; HD 7d10; MV 60', in web 90'; Act 2d20; SP poison bite, web movement; SV Fort +8, Ref +8, Will +6; Crit M/d12.

The Spidersaurus is a monstrously sized arachnid with the body of a tarantula and the head of a T-rex. The Spidersaurus is 20' to 30' in length and is typically found in the giant webs it spins between ruined Ancient buildings. Although it typically hunts for large prey, it will attack smaller Sekker-sized prey if they are foolish enough to become entrapped in its web.

The Spidersaurus bites for its primary attack. if it successfully bites a victim, the target must make a DC18 Fort save. If successful, the target takes an additional 1d4 from poisoning. If the target fails, they are immediately paralyzed from the Spidersaurus' poisonous bite. They will be unable to move for 1d12 hours. During this time, the Spidersaurus will cocoon its prey and carry them up to the tallest point in their web for later consumption. The Spidersaurus can move very quickly in its webbing, but anyone else who comes into contact with these sticky strands will be stuck fast unless they succeed a DC 10 Strength check. A player can climb a Spidersaurus web, but they must make a new Strength check for every 20' in the web they traverse. A coating of water or oil on their hands will negate the web's stickiness for 10 minutes, allowing them to climb unimpeded.

NOTE: This creature was inspired by the tale from Issue 6 of "Mighty Samson." Stay tuned each week for Samson Sunday!

DCC Day 2022 On July 16! Games, Adventures, And *10* New Releases!

It's time again to get excited all you fans of Dungeon Crawl Classics, Mutant Crawl Classics, and You-Name-It Crawl Classics! The third annual DCC Day is coming two weeks from now on July 16! 

The celebration of all things DCC will be happening in stores around the world, so check to see if your FLGS is hosting an event! If not, take the reins and run a game or two yourself on this day. You can also check out the Road Crew Event calendar to see what's going on in your neck of the woods. (I've also been told a list of participating stores will be posted soon...)

Also this year, Goodman Games has not one, not two, not three, but *10* special DCC Day releases! First up, the DCC Day 2022 Adventure Pack contains two adventures: "The Last Life Guardian" for MCC RPG and "Incident at Toad Fork" for DCC RPG! This will be available free while supplies last! Next up is the adventure "Chanters in the Dark" for DCC RPG. Ever wonder what happens after the events of "Sailors on the Starless Sea"? This might answer some of those questions! Also for DCC RPG is "The Book of Fallen Gods," a sourcebook of seven new patrons for your spellcasters to invoke! "Chanters" and "Fallen Gods" will be available for purchase. Finally, you like dice? Well, there are seven new sets of weird dice corresponding to the new patrons in Fallen Gods, and these dice sets will also be available for purchase!